Prayer for the Day

by Revd Canon David White

25th January 2026 - Conversion of Paul

Grant us Lord, grace to follow wheresoever you go.
In little daily duties to which you call us,
bow down our wills to simple obedience,
patience, strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility and kindness.
In great acts of duty, if you should call us to them,
uplift us to self-sacrifice and heroic courage,
that in all things both small and great
we may be imitators of your dear Son,
even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I was speaking on the telephone recently with a friend of mine and I asked if he had had a good Christmas. He said that he and his family had very much enjoyed themselves and had a lovely time. Their family had all gathered at their house and then at the new year they’d stayed with friends but, he added, he was glad to get ‘back to normal now’. I thought of him and of our conversation as I have been watching the news on successive nights recently and wondering, ‘what is normal’? Nothing in our national and political life nor in our international relations seems normal any more – and I’m not sure any longer who, in public life, I can trust to tell the truth.

This prayer by Christina Rosetti seems to be an antidote to all that’s happening at this time. It reminds us that whatever we do in life there are some important Christian values to adhere to – “strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility and kindness…self-sacrifice and heroic courage”. Responding to all that’s taking place in the world and society by saying this prayer and then living out the values it presents is the best normality that we can offer. It is not a denial of what is happening but rather an act of resistance. It’s an attempt to reclaim our integrity and agency as followers of Jesus.